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Thoreau was a paranoiac to the people of his age and his work remained unknown to a great extent until the turn of the century. Since then, many scholars have become interested in him and put a great deal of time and energy into the studies of Walden from different perspectives, among which the most profoundly studied ones are the perspective of eco-criticism, the perspective of translation, and the perspective of comparative literature.
Wang Nuo, an influential Chinese scholar in the field of eco-criticism, emphasized the importance of rereading and reevaluating the literary classics of all times, especially “the classics which greatly influenced human civilization and affected the vicissitude of the times.” (qtd. in Wang Nuo,2007:10) Walden, the earliest ecological work is definitely among the list.
As for the study from the perspective of translation, some scholars compare different Chinese versions of Walden, while others discuss the method of translating some classical or controversial parts. Zhang Lei compared two versions of the same paragraph. He drew a conclusion that “Walden is a prose mainly composed of narration and argument. It is not easy to translate it as the translator has to walk into the author’s heart and figure out his emotion.”(qtd.in Zhang Lei,2011:73) Another scholar, Chen Linyan proposed that “the translation of the puns in Walden should take into consideration the three different types of puns, namely, logical puns, rhetorical puns, and the puns leading to the sublimation of the main idea.” (qtd. in Chen Lingyan,2013:195)源'自:751`!论~文'网www.751com.cn
In Walden, Thoreau cited some famous Chinese sayings which arouse the interest of scholars. Du Xinyu analyzed the quotations Thoreau cited from The Four Books and reminded us of the deviation of meaning in the process of citation, that is, “Thoreau’s creative inpidual explanation of Chinese classic.” (qtd.in Du Xinyu,2009:114) Wang Suwei made a comparison between Thoreau’s thoughts and those of Chinese philosopher Chuang Tzu. He concluded that the two reach a consensus on some issues. For example, “they both agreed that man should keep a harmonious relationship with nature.” (qtd. in Wang Suwei,2012:59 )
2.2 The Necessity of Interpreting the Rhetorical Devices in Walden
This paper, different from what is mentioned above, will discuss Walden from the perspective of rhetoric or figures of speech.
“A figure of speech is the use of a word or a phrase which transcends its literal interpretation. It can be a special repetition, arrangement or omission of words with literal meaning, or a phrase with a specialized meaning not based on the literal meaning of the words in it, as in idiom, metaphor, simile, hyperbole, personification, or synecdoche. ” The above is the definition of a figure of speech from Wikipedia.